Oct. 7, 2016 - Today the Great
Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) Board awarded a $2 million grant to Eagle County to
construct 6.5 miles of the Eagle Valley Trail, connecting the Town of Eagle
with Horn Ranch Open Space and taking a significant step toward closing the
upvalley - downvalley gap in the trail system. The grant was one of the first
ever Connect Initiative grants awarded by GOCO.

Since 1996, Eagle County and its partners have worked to build a trail system
connecting the entire Eagle River Valley to Glenwood Canyon, Summit County, and
the Rio Grande Trail in Garfield and Pitkin counties. Ultimately, the
planned 63-mile Eagle Valley Trail (EVT) will contribute to nearly 193 miles of
continuous paved trail for walkers, bikers, and other recreationists in the
intermountain region.

This segment of the EVT was the top-ranked of six funded projects, and is the
result of the collaborative effort of nine partners including local and federal
government and private corporations and landowners. Governor Hickenlooper named
the entire EVT a Colorado the Beautiful: 16 in 2016 trail in
January of 2016, making it one of the state’s highest priority trail projects.

The total project cost is $7 million with $4.8 million funded by Eagle County and $200,000 by Town of Eagle, matching the $2 million grant from GOCO.

This segment will complete nearly half of the remaining 17 miles of the EVT,
starting near Nogal Gulch Road in Eagle and ending at Horn Ranch Open Space.
The project will create safe access separate from Highway 6, where pedestrians
and bicyclists attempt to use the one- to three-foot shoulder; provide
close-to-home access to the outdoors and safe, inexpensive commuting
alternatives for residents; and promote the area’s outdoor-recreation based
economic development. The project is slated to start construction in
April 2017, opening to the public in June 2018.

This Connect Initiative grant for the Town of Eagle to Horn Ranch Open Space
segment of the EVT is one of six awards that will move highly demanded trail
projects forward. Together all six projects will construct more than 23 miles of
trail and leverage nearly $25 million in local matching dollars. Over the next
three years GOCO’s Connect Initiative will invest $30 million in closing trail
gaps and creating safe access for all Coloradans to the outdoors.

To date, GOCO has invested $18.3 million in Eagle County, preserving more than
4,500 acres of land. GOCO funding has supported Sylvan State Park, Eagle
Information Center’s boat ramp, and the Eagle Valley Trail. Eagle County was
also recently named a GOCO Inspire community and will be part of a $25
million initiative to get kids outside.

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) invests a portion of Colorado Lottery
proceeds to help preserve and enhance the state’s parks, trails, wildlife,
rivers, and open spaces. GOCO’s independent board awards competitive grants to
local governments and land trusts, and makes investments through Colorado Parks
and Wildlife. Created when voters approved a Constitutional Amendment in 1992,
GOCO has since funded more than 4,800 projects in urban and rural areas in all
64 counties without any tax dollar support. Visit GOCO.org for more
information.